The three Wilson children in this grave are another example of children whose families moved on and never came back – and also a reminder that access to medicine or medical knowledge wasn’t enough to save you back then. It’s also a mystery all of its own for other reasons… Matthew Wilson was born in …
A stonemason, a woman with two names, and young losses, one (hopefully) redeemed by some grandparental love. First, the mysterious aforementioned woman. Not that she’s mysterious really, but for reasons we’ve never gotten to the bottom of, she had two names. Betty Crossley, as she was christened, was born in June 1850 in Midgley near …
Read more “41.55 – Sam, Harry, William Henry and Betty Atkinson, and Lily Bramley”
Six children, some only young, some grown; the Wood family suffered some terrible losses which are masked by this ornate “wooden” cross. Who were they? Edwin Wood was born in Ashton under Lyne in 1853, the son of John Wood, a baker and German yeast dealer and his wife Sarah (nee Booth). The yeast was German, …
The Denhams were an unlucky lot, all with early deaths – even by the standards of the day. They’re possibly the most unlucky family in this graveyard, even those who aren’t buried here. The fact that their stone was roughly laid flat by shattering the base only underlines the point. Olive Webster was a year …
Read more “41.58 – John, Olive, Sam, Tom, Sarah and Annie Denham”
Londoners, coming up here, taking our jobs, stealing our women! Well, you don’t hear that last bit these days, but for the sake of accuracy in this story we’ll pretend that’s still a relevant gripe in Todmorden. But people have always travelled for work and to try and do something different with the skills they …
Read more “42.ii – Mary, William, Sally, Betty and William Gunn”
Two Williams, father and son, with a world between their two jobs, and one of them with one eye on worlds other than these… William Dixon Sr. was born in 1772, probably in Batley near Leeds. Mary Hepworth was born in, we think, Huddersfield in 1776. Somehow they met, married in 1807, and started a …
Two husbands, four children; some of them are here, along with the woman whose affection they all held in common. John Binns was born in 1811 somewhere outside of Todmorden. The short time he was alive and the time he was alive in means we know nothing else about him apart from that he was …
Read more “42.16 – John Binns and Joshua, Betsy and Richard Taylor”
A grave where we know little about the inhabitants, but we’ve done our best to bring them to life a little bit. Robert Suthers started out life with only one parent – born in Mereclough in 1807, by the time he was baptised in October of that year his mother Mary had already died. An …
Read more “42.25 – Elizabeth, Ellen, Robert and Betty Suthers”
There are two names on this stone, a father, and his son, but only the father is actually in the grave. His son, Peter who is named died at sea, so has no known grave, which is why he is remembered here. The sole occupant of the grave, James Stuttard, was born in Oldham in …
This grave hold five siblings, four of which died very young. The fifth made it to adulthood but his life was needlessly chaotic, and one wonders what his poor parents made of it all. Those parents were James and Susan (Feber) Farrar of Todmorden, who were married at Heptonstall in March 1825. Just in time, …
Read more “42.34 – William, Sarah, John, James John and Howorth Farrar”